"Beautiful place, Mars,"
Boyfriend remarked offhandedly. "I own a subterranean Time Share
near the Capitol."

I simply goggled. "Excuse me . . . Are we talking about Mars,
as in Mars . . . the fourth planet from the sun?"

I'm sitting here discussing inter-dimensional portals and the
merits of an on-time planetary shuttle service with a talking
cat.

This entire experience
is surreal.

I sat there, mind reeling,
struggling to take it all in.

It occurred to me
that I wasn't doing all that well with the assignment.

Boyfriend must have
recognized the expression my face.

"Trying to get a grasp on the moment?" he inquired gently.

I nodded.

"Me too," he replied
dryly.

MYSTERY /
TIME TRAVEL

Click
On Image
To read story synopsis and sample chapter

AN
UNSCHEDULED DESTINATION
Across Time

Alyssa zipped up her
bag, and glanced worriedly at her watch. Running late. Damn.
She glanced at her watch again. It was going to be close. She
made a dash for the door, calling over her shoulder to her husband,
and blowing him a kiss. "I love you! Call me if you need me,
I can be back at a moment's notice!"

She was looking forward to spending a week with her cousin Emily
on Florida's west coast. She really could use a break, she realized,
as she boarded the plane and took her seat. She was exhausted,
mentally as well as physically. She leaned back and shut her
eyes, only to be roughly jolted awake, what felt like only moments
later, as the landing gear descended and the wheels hit the
tarmac with a thud.

The baggage claim area was curiously empty. Apparently she had
been the only passenger traveling to this particular destination.
Well, it was a regional airline with multiple stops, and this
area, however pretty, couldn't compete with the appeal of Disney
World. She mentally shrugged, strapped her bag to her folding
luggage wheelie and walked out the terminal doors.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Amanda Gray asks her
brother Timothy. "The world's first Starship Commander," he replies.
The fact that Starships haven't quite been invented yet is only
a minor setback. If you've already read The Flying Lesson, you
know that Timothy, his sister Amanda, and their cat Sam, may have
a wee bit of an edge on technology. 7 short chapters. Devour it
in one reading or make it last for a week.

The
Conversation - The awful jumble of senseless violence that accompanies
the six o'clock news. It's always somebody else it happens to... Unless
you've contemplated the violence yourself... Or until it happens to
you. Your family. Your friends. And you desperately need to have The
Conversation.

The
Rainbow Bridge, For Michael - Jack is gone and Timothy is grieving
over his death. Timothy's uncle, a firefighter, reminisces about his
dog Sheba, the pup who was his friend for better than twenty years,
as he explains to Timothy about a place of warmth and love, a place
called The Rainbow Bridge. A particularly comforting tale for a child
or an adult who's lost a friend or a pet.

The
Cat Who Cried Oh-WOW!
People grow old, memories fail. It happens to pets too. Sometimes the
two have more in common than you might have imagined. A quiet tale,
about the awakening of compassion. Share it with your memories. Then
share it with a child.
Reading time: About 4 minutes
Age Group: From about age 8 through CEO

SHORT STORY:
BROKEN PROMISES PARENTS & CHILDREN
Click on image to read.

BROKEN PROMISES

It was
one of those nights. Scattered patches of turbulent weather, just
bad enough to foul up nearly every flight coming in and going
out. Periodically the rain would let up just enough to let another
plane land.

Four strangers,
waiting for their flight to be called. For no apparent reason,
they had just voiced to each other a pain which cut so deeply
they could barely voice it to themselves.

SHORT STORY:
A FAMILY'S LOVE IS PRICELESS Click On Image

The
Broken Diamond

It's not only valuable
diamonds that are unexpectedly found broken. Children can arrive
broken too.

In this world there
are children who are born with Autism, with Down's Syndrome, with
Cerebral Palsy. There are so very many things that can suddenly
go wrong, and for no apparent reason.

Worse, there are so
many people who can't begin to see the worth in these children.
Families who would just as soon toss their less than perfect children
away, without ever really understanding the life and the joy that
continues to glow within them.

This story will touch
your heart.

SHORT STORY:
SELF CONFIDENCEClick On Image

The INVENTOR

Believe
in your dream. Others
have believed in theirs.

Don't
give up. If they
can do it, so can you.

A BIT OF BEDTIME
WHIMSYClick On Image

A Day At The Beach

Spending a day at the
beach with your friends can be a real treat.

Once in a while however,
provided that you stay especially alert while you're there, it
might even turn out to be more of a treat than you ever imagined.

Why?

Because sometimes things
are not always
what they seem to be.

A DOZEN BEDTIME-STORIESClick On Image

The Adventures
of A.G. Bear

This personable little
bear and his unusual companions wander in and out of a dozen short
stories, featuring a memorable combination of witty reparté and
howlingly funny dialogue, (with some practical wisdom thrown in
for good measure).

Each tale is suitable
for a night's reading. The typical Bedtime-Story audience requests
that they be read oh...about sixty times on average, and the tales
continue to inspire giggles.

Click to read "The
Adventures of AG Bear", in very good company in the article below,
ranking # 7 out of 10, and beating out some very well known children's
book authors.

CLIENT EDITING
EXAMPLE

Children's Book

The Rag
Doll

10 year old Krissie
is heartbroken. Her father has just gotten a major promotion
and the family has to move to Chicago. To lessen the child's
sorrow at having to leave friends and family behind, Krissie's
grandmother gives her a well-worn little rag doll named Eugene.
Treasured and passed down by the women in their family since
the era of slavery, Krissie's grandmother gently relates a simple
tale, but surely one worth talking about. Wonderful story, wonderful
illustrations.

COPY AND CONTENT
EDITING BY C.K.GURINThe late Yvonne
Augustin continued to write, building upon her first tale,
The Rag Doll, and relating the saga of her characters
lives in"Rag Doll Tales: Mama Mabel's Story, the Journey"